


Marriage, Or Something

by starlightwalking



Series: Modern Middle-earth [3]
Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Aromantic Legolas, Arospec Gimli, Fluff, M/M, Modern Middle Earth, Queerplatonic Relationships, Tolkien Gen Week 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-17
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2019-03-05 22:00:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13397130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightwalking/pseuds/starlightwalking
Summary: Gimli suggests a shocking idea—but then, romantic relationships shouldn’t have the monopoly on marriage, or whatever a queerplatonic couple’s version of it would be.





	Marriage, Or Something

**Author's Note:**

> This is another installment in my Modern Middle-earth AU focusing on queerplatonic Gigolas. Sometime soon I’ll have a longer fic explaining how they met in this universe!  
> Written for Tolkien Gen Week Day 3: Gray Spaces. I didn't tag this as Gen just to keep in line with the other fics in this universe that I've written, but the weird gray nature of their relationship qualifies it to me to fit in this category. I've had this idea forever and to be honest I picked today's theme in TGW with this fic in mind!

"We should get married."

Legolas choked on his coffee, then turned to stare at Gimli with wide eyes. "What?" he demanded, wiping his face.

Gimli crossed his arms. "You heard me."

"That is the last thing I thought I'd hear coming out of your aro mouth," Legolas said incredulously. "Married? Us?"

"Romantic relationships don't have a monopoly on marriage!" Gimli protested. "Not that we have to, or anything. I just thought I'd suggest the idea."

Legolas blinked. "Well—I'm not necessarily  _against_  it, I suppose. You just surprised me. Go on."

Gimli shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "Well—it's just, we've been living together, in this queerplatonic relationship, for how long? Twenty years by now?"

Legolas smiled. "It feels—"

"—longer," finished Gimli, just as Legolas said, "—not as long."

Gimli laughed, his chair tipping further and further back until he lost his balance and toppled out of it. Legolas jumped up and caught the chair, trying to save him, but Gimli tumbled into his arms and the chair clattered to the floor.

Gimli was still laughing, but Legolas didn't find it  _that_  funny, especially since he could barely breathe with Gimli on top of him. "You're heavy!" he choked out. "Get off!"

Gimli kissed his forehead and rolled off. "Sorry, Leg."

Legolas groaned and waved his feet in Gimli's face. "These are the only legs you're getting!"

"It's just a nickname," Gimli said.

"You don't see me calling you 'Gim', do you? It's silly—we're beyond pet names, we've talked about this."

Gimli offered him a hand, helping Legolas to his feet. "I know, but I like to tease you from time to time."

"I've noticed," Legolas grumled. "Some married couple  _we'd_  make." But he laced his fingers between Gimli's and led his partner—best friend—fiance?—to their couch.

They settled comfortably into the cushions. Gimli draped his legs over Legolas's and put his hands behind his head. Legolas let his hand rest on Gimli's midsection, admiring the shirt he wore, designed by the dwarf himself.

"Mm," Gimli said. "You know, if we're going to be this ridiculously domestic, we really ought to make it official."

"We're not 'official' already?" Legolas asked. He was long past any uncertainty at the depth and importance of their relationship, but semantics nearly always came into question when discussing it. Their love fell into some undefined gray space, and while that had its advantages, clarity was not one of them. "We've got the queerplatonic label and everything."

"True." Gimli stroked his beard in the contemplative, mysterious way only a dwarf of his status and history could. "There are benefits, though. And not just tax benefits, though we're wealthy enough to not really have to worry about that. Hospital visits, for one. Remember last year, when you broke your arm and spent a night in the ER, and they wouldn't even let me in to see you?"

Legolas grimaced. "You've got a point there. It's just..." He sighed. "I don't know, Gimli. Ever since I figured out I was aro, I rejected everything that was even remotely related to romance. Some of those barriers have come down, some of those things I've redefined for myself, but...I feel like it would be, I don't know, dishonest to get married. Like I'm betraying who I've fought so hard to be."

"Yeah..." Gimli nodded. "Yeah, I get that."

"But then again..." Legolas smiled. "I look at the life I'm living, and you, and where we are now, and... I don't ever see us not being a 'thing'. Whatever that 'thing' is. So we might as well...tell the government, I suppose."

"It  _would_  be purely bureaucratic, of course," Gimli assured. "No fancy parties or wedding invitations or anything—we're grown-ass men, we don't need that."

"No sappy proposal or even any guests," Legolas agreed. "Just me, you, and a courthouse."

"So what do you think?" Gimli asked. "No pressure. We've been doing...this..." He nudged Legolas with one hairy foot. "...for long enough that it won't change anything if we don't get married."

"Won't change much if we do, either," Legolas countered. He pulled a face. "Is there any way to keep it private from the press? I can't imagine what the paparazzi will think, not to mention my rabid fanbase..."

Gimli snorted. "We've got friends in high places. I'm sure we could work it out for awhile, until it's been so long no one will care."

"Or until it's a scandal," Legolas pointed out. "Hmm..." He tapped his chin, his elvish ears twitching as he thought. "Now that we're talking about it, I don't know if I'm against the idea of marriage, or—something. Whatever our highly-unromantic version of matrimony would be."

"We can't ever do things the usual way," Gimli joked. "We've got to be an interracial, gay, arospec, queerplatonic, celebrity, world-saving couple—and now we're getting secretly married!"

"Hold up, I haven't said yes yet!" Legolas swatted Gimli playfully. "Manwë's mustache...just thinking of what the tabloids will say is giving me a headache. Remember that time someone accused me of being an alien because I like the color green? And I already have people arguing about my sexuality, no matter how many times I come out as gay and aroace—this will only make it worse!"

"We don't have to, hun," Gimli said. "But I wouldn't let  _that_  be the reason. For a sexy movie star, you take what people say about you far too seriously."

Legolas sighed and draped himself over his partner, snuggling closer until they were cuddling. "What would I do without you, Gim?" he asked, nestling his face into Gimli's elegantly-kept red hair.

"Oh, so it's 'Gim' now, is it?" Gimli laughed. "Well, let's hope we never find out."

"I like to tease too." Legolas sighed in content, mulling over their conversation. "I don't know if I'll marry you," he admitted, wrapping himself even tighter around the dwarf he loved more than anything. "But you've got me thinking."

"I'm on trial?" Gimli joked. "Well—fiance isn't a bad look. Husband sounds nice too, eventually."

"Hmm," Legolas mused. "Husband. You know, I like the sound of that more than I thought I would."

"Good," said Gimli. He tried to wriggle free, but Legolas held on tighter. At last, he gave up.

"Don't go yet," Legolas mumbled. "I'm still deciding."

"If I stay here as long as it takes for an elf to make up his mind, I'll be a skeleton before it happens," Gimli said. He relaxed, resigning to be the little spoon in this situation. "But for you, I'll wait."

They lay there in comfortable silence for several moments, Legolas's eyes closed and his heart full, before he whispered in reply: "That's gay."

Gimli laughed softly. "And coming from me—aro, too."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and commenting!


End file.
